Vigil held to honor young mother killed in early morning Waterford apartment fire

WATERFORD TWP., MI (FOX 2) - Family and friends spent Monday evening paying tribute to a 23-year-old woman killed in a weekend fire.

Firefighters were unable to reach Brianna Johnson in time when flames engulfed her Waterford Township apartment building.

Vigil held in honor of young woman killed in Waterford apartment fire

Family and friends spent Monday evening paying tribute to a 23-year-old woman killed in a weekend fire. Firefighters were unable to reach the young mother in time when flames engulfed her Waterford Township apartment building.

"I would give my life just to have her back, I really would," said her mother, Tammy Gibson. "She had a very caring spirit, she had a good heart."

Friends and family gathered to say goodbye to Johnson. The 23-year-old aspiring nurse and mother of a 2-year-old, died early Saturday morning.

"Just the tragedy to lose her the way that I did," Gibson said. "Nothing could prepare me for (something) like that."

Cell phone video taken outside Brianna's apartment shows the devastating fire.

Video still of the deadly fire that killed Brianna Johnson inside the Glengarry Apartments.

She lived on the third floor of the Glengarry Apartments. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Normally her 2-year-old son would have been there with her, but that morning he was at his dad's house. His life was spared but he will grow up without his mom.

"Just knowing he's gonna have that void cause is mom is not there," Gibson said. "It's hard to wrap my mind around that."